A Double Rescue
by tinybit92
Summary: Rouge saves Knuckles' life and they soon become closer than before. But when the enemy returns with reinforcments, Knuckles is going to have to protect Rouge. Just a cute KnuxRouge story rated for some language and Knuckles likely injuring someone.
1. Rescue

Knuckles was fighting a battle he couldn't win. Fang had gotten a lot stronger since their last fight, and the bullet wound in his right arm was causing more pain then he could handle during a fight.

"What's the matter Knucklehead?" the Weasel taunted. "Too strong for you am I? How disappointing." He kicked Knuckles hard in the side.

"Ahh!" He cried out. There was nothing Knuckles could do, he was weak injured and completely unable to move.

Fang pointed his gun at Knuckles head. "Guess this is it then eh pal? G'Bye Knuckles, I'll see you in Hell." Right as he was about to pull the trigger, someone flew out of know where and kicked Fang in the face.

"Don't you touch him you bastard!" Rouge cried out angrily as she touched ground.

"Damn!" Fang said as he rubbed his jaw. " Who the hell are you."

"Rouge the Bat, a good friend of Knuckles. I came here to talk to him, wasn't expecting I'd have to save his life." She glared daggers at Nak as she said it.

"Well I guess I'll just have to take you out as well girly." Fang grinned as he stood up.

"Fat chance!" Rouge responded immediately, kicking him again in the side of his skull. Even if he did see it coming this time, Fang had no time to react to the attack: Rouge was too fast. He flew backwards and Rouge leapt into the air above him using a downward kick to slam the Weasel hard into the ground.

He groaned in pain as he pulled himself back up. "Okay!" he coughed out "I know when I'm beat, I'll go. But don't think I won't be back for that Emerald." With that, he dashed off into the forest.

Rouge glared after him before turning her full attention to the groaning Echidna near the Emerald Altar. "Knuckles, are you alright?" She asked kneeling next to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I am now." he mumbled through the pain. "Thanks."

" Hey, no problem. I owed you one for Meteor Herd anyway." She let out a small laugh.

"The Emerald." Knuckles grumbled as he tried to get up.

Rouge pushed him back down. "Don't try to move on your own, you're too badly injured. The Master Emerald will be fine. I'm here, and I'm not got let anyone touch either of you." She gave him a warm smile. "Now tell me, is there any source of water around here? We have to clean that wound so I can get the bullet out."

"Yeah, there's a small lake not far from here. But are you really qualified to do that?" He looked skeptical.

Rouge just laughed. "I'm a government spy Knuckles, I know how to handle bullet wounds. Now come on," She lifted one of his arms over her shoulders to support him and stood up. "Point me in the right direction so I can get you fixed up."

Knuckles pointed off into the forest and they began to walk. "Rouge?" He asked after a while. "What were you doing here?"

"Like I said to the weasel, I came to talk."

"What about?"

She blushed slightly and turned her head away. "That's not really important right now. What is important is fixing you up. I think I see the lake ahead."

Once they emerged from the trees, Rouge lay Knuckles down next to the bank. "Stay here." she told him before pulling a cloth from nowhere and soaking it with water.

"Why do you-" Knuckles began before Rouge cut him off.

"Government spy." she leaned over him with a smile. "Now stay still, this is probably going to sting a bit."

Knuckles gasped in pain as he felt the moisture sting the wound.

Rouge just laughed. "If you think this hurts, wait until I pull that chunk of metal out of your arm." She continued to clean the wound as gently as possible before pulling out a pair of tweezers and one of those sterilizing wipes you usually see at the doctor. "There's not much I can do to keep this from hurting like hell, so brace yourself and stay perfectly still."

Knuckles nodded before closing his eyes as tight as he could. His arm seared with pain as the cold metal instrument plunged into his flesh to remove the bullet, and all Knuckles could was hold his breath and wait for it to be over.

Moments later Rouge let out a sigh and said "Got it."

He opened his eyes to see her sitting there with a triumphant grin on her face, and a bloody pair of tweezers in her hand, the bullet tightly clamped between its prongs. "Good job." he managed to say.

"Not done yet." she stated flatly as she set the bloody instrument aside and brought out a cotton pad and a role of gauze. "I'm like a boy scout," she said with a playful smile. "Always prepared."

Knuckles laughed as she began to wrap the wound.

"Oh good, I was hoping I could get you to laugh. It is the best medicine after all."

Knuckles stopped for a moment and stared at her.

"What?" she asked, noticing the stare.

"Why are you being so kind to me Rouge? I'd have thought you would have run off with the Emerald by now."

She gave him a sad look. " I'm not heartless you know. Your life is far more important than some dumb rock. Besides, I've already told you, I don't care about stealing the Master Emerald anymore. It means too much to you."

She looked at him for a moment before going back to her task.

"Thank you Rouge." Knuckles finally said.

"You already thanked me for saving your life." She reminded him.

"Well I'm no less grateful."

When she'd finished she gave a small sigh of relief. "I've never actually had to do that before. Shadow is usually my partner and he never gets shot, too fast to hit." She wiped the sweat from her brow and flopped down ont the grass next to Knuckles.

"Shouldn't we head back to the shrine?" He asked. "What if someone tries to take it?"

"Don't worry, if anyone goes near the thing I'll hear it."

"From this distance?"

She pointed to her large ears. "I'm a bat Knuckles, ultra-sonic hearing. Nobody's touching it. Besides," she rolled onto her side to face him. "I don't want to move you too much if I can help it. Even if I did get that part fixed up," She pointed to his now tightly wrapped arm. "You still got the crap kicked out of you. The less exertion you get the better."

Knuckles turned his head to look at her. There was a lot of concern in those soft turquoise eyes of hers. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Knuckles?" She asked." We're friends right?"

At first, he wasn't sure what to say. Rouge had been his enemy from the start, but after tonight… "I guess so." he finally said. "Yeah, I guess you could call us friends to some extent."

"Good." She seemed relieved by his answer.

There was silence for a while.

"So," she said after a moment. "how come you don't have a house around here?"

"Huh. I guess I never really thought about it." It was the truth, the only thing he ever really thought about was keeping the M.E. safe.

"You really should," she went on. "You could have a real bed, an actual bathroom, and somewhere to keep a first aid kit for when I'm not around. Not to mention you could keep a refrigerator with some actual food in it, and not just the stuff that grows around here, since I'm assuming that's what you live off of."

"Well, that would be nice. I love getting steaks and things like that when I actually get out of here, but there isn't really anywhere to keep meat on the island."

"Tell you what," Rouge said with a grin. "When you get better, how about you and I build you a place to live? We can use materials that are already here for the most part, and ask the fox kid to help with the electronic stuff."

Knuckles was taken aback for a moment, but once he started to think about it, it made a lot of sense. "Yeah, I'm sure Tails wouldn't mind. And a soft comfortable place to sleep would be nice. It would have to be next to the Altar though."

"Naturally."

"But… Why would you want to help me build a house?"

"Because we're friends. And because I'll be much more comfortable with the idea of you being here by yourself once you have the supplies necessary to take care of yourself. I don't want to imagine what would have happened tonight if I hadn't come along." She closed her eyes as if trying to block out the thoughts. "But if you had a first aid kit, you would have been okay even without me."

"I didn't know you cared that much Rouge." He gave her a warm thankful smile and she blushed.

"Even if we haven't always been on the best of terms, I still wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

They were silent for a few minutes, neither of them sure what to say next.

"You should get some sleep." Rouge finally said.

"Yeah, your right. Goodnight Rouge." Knuckles closed his eyes and relaxed.

"Goodnight Knuckles." Rouge did the same, without even bothering to roll onto her back again.

Soon the were both asleep, the peaceful sounds of the forests of Angel Island were the only sounds that could be heard for miles off.

--

_tinybit92 here, do you like so far? Yes? No? R&R please._


	2. Building

It had been a few weeks now. Knuckles' injuries had long since healed, but Rouge hadn't left his side for more than an hour, insisting that they start on the new house right away. By this time, they had a decent frame up, and plenty of lumber off to the side for later use. The two of them were currently relaxing in the grass and admiring their work. Rouge had brought water bottles some time ago and they continued to refill them by the lake.

"So we've already decided on a kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, and a dining room, but how many bedrooms do you want?"

"Well just the one is all I need. I honestly don't understand why you insist on two bathrooms."

"Well first off, you should always have a guest bedroom. And for the same reason, your going to want to have a second bathroom. Imagine you have guests over and there's a huge line for the bathroom, do you really want to deal with that?"

"Probably not… So that's at least two bedrooms. Why not make a third, just for the heck of it?" He gave her a huge smile to show his amusement at the idea."

"Ha ha, sounds good to me." She replied. "you asked Tails about routing some electricity yet?"

"Yeah. He says we're so high up that we won't usually have to worry about the sun being blocked, so we could get away with a solar battery and a windmill sort of thing for backup."

"Awesome." She smiled happily at him to show her approval.

Quite honestly, Knuckles couldn't believe how well they were getting along. When he'd first met Rouge, he'd never have believed they could become such good friends. Now though, Rouge was being such a kind, sweet person that he was really growing fond of her. Sure she still had the occasional outburst of anger, but that wasn't the real her, just something she did to keep herself from being intimidated. The real Rouge was a great friend who was always ready to listen when you wanted to talk and a good conversationalist at that. He was glad to have her around.\

--

_Kay, this will probably be my shortest chapter, sory for that. R&R please._


	3. Please Stay

"Would you look at that." Rouge said a few weeks later as they marveled at their completed project.

A single story, three bedroom two bath home with everything a person could need. Even if Knuckles insisted he wanted only the bare minimum with electronics, Tails couldn't help himself and had ended up putting a full television, DVD, and stereo in, along with a computer and his own specially designed MP3 player that he called the tPod. The actual furnishings had all been hand made between Knuckles and Rouge, and looked fantastic. It was built simply with wood, treated with a weather resistant finish to give it a very cabin-like look and feel.

"We did pretty good." Knuckles said with a smile, very proud of what they'd accomplished.

"I guess my work here is done." Rouge said sounding somewhat bored at the thought of leaving.

"Wait!" Knuckles said it a little more desperately than he'd meant to. "I wanted to ask you something." He started blushing.

"What is it?" Rouge used a comforting tone, noticing his apparent worry, and stepped closer to him.

"Well," Knuckles began, holding her small hand in his own. "I was thinking, and… Well since you've been here, I've kind of gotten used to having you around, and I really enjoy your company, and considering how much work you've put into helping me build the place, I was wondering if maybe you'd want to stay here with me? I mean, I've got more than enough room and…" By this point, Knuckles' blush had turned to a brilliant shade of read closely matching the rest of his fur.

Rouge on the other hand had an ecstatic smile plastered across her face and threw her arms around his neck in a fierce hug, which, if possible, turned Knuckles an even deeper shade of crimson. "Oh Knuckles! Of course I'll stay here, I'd love too. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to going back to my lonely apartment."

After recovering from the initial shock of the hug, Knuckles wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled Rouge closer. "I'm glad. I wasn't looking forward to Angel Island without you either."

They stayed there like that for a few minutes before Rouge pulled away enough to say "I should head back to my old place and pick up my stuff, not to mention let the landlord know I'm leaving."

"Okay, see you when you get back."

She flew off shortly after waving cheerfully. At which point, Knuckles sat down at the foot of the Altar, leaned back, and let out a deep, contented sigh.

--

_This one was still short, but longer than the last, the next one will be longer and more eventful, I promise. These two are so cute. But the action hasn't even started yet. ;)_


	4. Reinforcements

_Next chappie!_

_Couple quick notes, this chapter is the reason this is rated T, although I didn't quite think it would be this violent. In my imagination, Rouge is wearing her Sonic Heroes outfit._

_Oh, and since I haven't said this yet, I OWN NOTHING!... Except Slick, I do own him. Enjoy._

--

They'd now been living together for two weeks, and Knuckles was in a much better mood for it. Even when she had to leave on missions, he always looked forward to when she'd come home. Rouge was glad to be able to have someone to come home too. They'd both personalized their rooms, Knuckles with a heavy duty punching bag and some dumbbells, and Rouge with lots of shiny objects that she'd very likely stolen.

At the moment, they'd just finished dinner and were relaxing outside near the M.E. At the moment, Rouge was telling a story about her glory days of thievery.

"And then," she said, hardly capable of speech through her laughter. "They're searching everywhere for me now that the alarm has been tripped, and no matter how long they search they never think to look on the ceiling. So I just waited it out, and once the were gone, flew out the window."

They both lay there in the cool grass laughing for a few moments before Knuckles spoke. "Ha ha, why is it that every time I ask you about some piece of jewelry, it ends up being a story about you stealing it and escaping like it was nothing?"

"Please, are you honestly surprised? There are only like five things I've ever had any real trouble stealing. Your Emerald being top on the list I might add."

"Hehe, and your surprised?"

"Ha ha, not really." they lay there and smiled at each other for a moment before…

"Aw, how cute. Listen to the little lovebirds go." A mysterious voice came out of the forest and they both sat up.

Knuckles didn't recognize it, but Rouge looked outright terrified. "No way." she gasped out under her breath.

"S'matter girly, my new friend scare you?" That voice was unmistakably Nak the Weasel.

Knuckles stood up straight now. "alright Fang, show your ugly face. And who do you have with you?"

Fang popped out of the trees closely followed by a large male black cat. "Why don't you ask your girlfriend?"

Rouge scrambled up to her feet at the sight of the cat and put on an angry face. "What the hell are you doing here Slick!" She shouted.

"What do you think? I'm here for revenge." The cat, replied with a mischievous grin.

"Who is this guy Rouge?" Knuckles asked curiously.

"Remember how I said there were a few things I'd had trouble stealing? Well this guy is from one of those times." She never took her eyes off the black feline as she spoke. "His name's Slick, like oil slick, since that's all he is, a greasy smudge. We were both after the same thing and I won in the end."

"You won? That's all you have to say about it?" Slick said sounding indignant. He had golden eyes, sharp fangs, and very untidy fur. Every inch of him was covered in jet black fur, and he wore neon green sneakers and gloves as if to offset the effect. A brown belt was wrapped around his waist, a knife glinting against his side. "You knocked me out and ran off, leaving there for when the cops showed up, you conniving little thief!"

"Ex-thief, thank you very much! And you were idiot who set the alarm off and tried to kill me. You deserve however much time you got."

"Ex-thief? Ha! Don't make me laugh, bat. Once a thief, always a thief."

Nak joined in on the conversation now. "You see, when I realized your girl wasn't leaving, Knucklehead, I decided I'd need some backup to get the Emerald, but since I'm not one to share, I needed someone who didn't have an interest in it. Didn't take long to find someone who was out for _her_ head."

Knuckles was mad now. "You pair of dirty, sleazy criminals! You won't win, right Rouge?"

"Right." Her nod was a nervous one, but clearly determined.

"Heh heh, I'm gonna' enjoy this." Slick said with and insane smile. "Leave the girl to me weasel, I want the full pleasure of taking her out."

The look on her face was meant to be tough and unyielding, but Knuckles could see the fear hidden underneath. He touched her arm to get her attention. When there eyes met he asked "Can you take him on your own."

"I think so." She said in a shaky voice.

"Well, I'll be beating Fang's skull in if you do need me." He agve her a confident wink, that she couldn't help but smile at, before dashing off in Nak's direction.

"Just you and me now Rouge." Slick said, now a mere ten feet away, his sharp fangs gleaming as he smiled maliciously.

"No problem." She said, adopting a fighting stance. " I beat you once I can beat you again."

"That doesn't really count seeing as you snuck up on me."

"Alls fair in love and war."

After that they charged forward, and met head-on, Rouge's steel-toed boot colliding with his fist. He didn't even flinch, and wasted no time in aiming a punch with his other fist at Rouge's stomach. She swiftly dodged, using her wings to pull herself into a backward flip and landing neatly back on her feet. Immediately Slick dashed forward and pulled a full-out roundhouse kick that Rouge barely ducked under. While still low to the ground, she swept her leg around knocking him off his feet. He hit the ground and she attempted an aerial downward kick only to have him roll out of the way at the last moment, leaving her completely open for attack. He performed another roundhouse kick, this one landing hard across Rouge's back and sending her flying through the air to smash painfully into a pillar near the Emerald Altar. She fell to the ground as the ancient stone began to crack from the force of the impact, and within seconds it crashed to the ground. Rouge let out and earsplitting scream as a large portion of it fell across her left leg and she felt the bone shatter.

Meanwhile, Knuckles and Fang had been fighting blow for blow, each an even match for the other as the fought furiously. Then Knuckles heard Rouge scream. He completely forgot he was fighting and snapped his head around to see what had happened to her, only to have Nak's fist collide painfully with his head.

"Don't turn your back on your opponent, not even for a second." Fang taunted with a grin.

Knuckles stood up with a growl and charged for the weasel.

Slick was walking casually over to the now trapped Rouge with a clearly pleased smile. "Pathetic." He said, kneeling in front of her and watching her try to control the searing pain now coursing through her body. "I should just slit your throat now." He pulled his knife from his side and Rouge's eyes snapped open. This caused him to smile at the obvious fear in her eyes. He stood up and placed a foot on her right arm. "But I won't do that. Not yet anyway. I want your death to be slow and painful." He emphasized the last word by pushing all his weight down on her arm, and a sickening crack filled the air. Rouge screamed out once more, tears starting to spill out of her eyes.

Knuckles' head flipped around once more. "Rouge!" He's heard the crack this time and was terrified for her. Nak tried another sneak attack, but this time Knuckles expected it and caught his fist. The weasel just grinned mischievously.

"Sounds like your girlfriend's in trouble."

"Shut up!" He swung his fist at Fang's face and they continued their fight.

Slick was laughing at the fact that she'd finally showed tears, and he kicked the pillar off of Rouge's leg before flipping her onto her back. "So," he said, holding his knife up and licking the blade menacingly. "Where should we start?"

Rouge closed her eyes as tight as she could. She was already in such a colossal amount of pain, she wasn't sure it would be possible to add more, but she didn't want to find out. He bent down and tore the bottom of her shirt to reveal her momentarily undamaged stomach. Then, he placed the knife on one side and made a shallow cut along the length. She screamed once more, unable to handle the additional pain.

Yet again Knuckles turned to the source of the scream. And wasn't expecting it when Nak immediately threw a punch. He pulled backward slightly before giving Fang the deadliest glare he'd ever given anyone before shouting angrily. "THAT IS IT! I've had more than enough of you for a lifetime. Get the hell out of my way!" With that, he dashed forward and struck Fang a blow to the jaw that sent him sailing clear the sky to land with a distant crash among the trees. After a satisfied smirk, he dashed over to where he knew Rouge was.

Slick was too busy enjoying the sight of blood to notice Knuckles running up behind him and felt the sharp blow of Knuckles' fist across his skull, sending him about ten feet away.

Knuckles looked down and noticed the condition Rouge was in. He let out a small gasp of terror before kneeling next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Rouge, it's me. Everything's going to be alright. I just have to take out that freak and then I'll make sure to treat you as best I can."

She gave him a small, pained nod to show she'd heard, but was unable to do much more.

Now a very angry echidna stood up and glared at the black blob of fur pulling himself up. "You're going to pay for hurting her like this you monster."

Slick laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Bring it, loser."

Needing no second bidding Knuckles dashed forward and unleashed a flurry of swift, hard punches across the cat's entire body, leaving many bloody scrapes with his sharp fists. Slick hadn't expected such a fierce attack and ended up taking the full brunt of the blows. After a minute or so of this, Knuckles unleashed his full strength in one blow, driving Slick into the ground and forming a small crater.

He was panting hard but mustered enough energy to yell at the cat. "Now get off my island you bastard!"

Slick coughed hard before pulling himself up and dashing away into the forest.

Knuckles watched him go. Once he was sure he'd left, he ran back to Rouge. She was breathing heavily and each breath seemed to cause her pain. He leaned down and lifted her gently into his arms. "Don't worry," he whispered in her ear." I'm gonna' take care of you. I promise."

That was the last thing Rouge heard before she blacked out completely.

--

_Wooh! Let me know what you think with a review. ;) I may or may not go work on the next chap right now._

_Slick:Mwahahahaha! I'm so evil!_

_GTFO my space Slick! I only invented you for this story cause I needed a seriously evil due._

_Slick:Exactly! Mwahahahahahahaha!_


	5. Bonding

_Hey all, sorry it took me so long, I've had a lot to do lately. A huge thanks to everyone who faved and reviewed, without your encouragement I probably would have given up. So thenks to all, read and enjoy._

--

The first thing that Rouge was aware of as she regained consciousness was pain. Not nearly as bad as when she'd passed out, but nothing to laugh at. She let out a small groan before opening her eyes.

"Your awake!" Knuckles looked so happy to see her awake, that she actually managed to smile at him.

They were in Rouge's room. She lay in her bed and beside it, Knuckles had set up a chair so he could wait there until she woke. "What happened?" she asked.

"Well I'm pretty sure you'll remember getting beaten up." It was not meant to be joke, Knuckles actually sounded fairly angry about it.

"Of course. I meant what happened after passed out?"

"I brought you back here, and took care of that cut first." Rouge noted the fact that there was a large amount of bandaging across her stomach. "From there, I found one of the medical books Tails left and tried to figure out what to do with those broken bones." He blushed at this point clearly not pleased with what he accomplished. Her leg was wrapped with a series of long thick branches tied together to form the closest they could come to a cast. Her arm had a similar setup, plus a sling. "They keep the bones from moving." He continued. "So it meets the basic requirements."

"Not bad, considering the circumstances."

He blushed redder at the compliment. "I'm just glad you weren't awake when I had to reset the bones. You were moaning and stuff even asleep, I can't imagine how much it would have hurt had you been awake."

Rouge gulped visibly at the thought.

"Then I used a wet wash cloth to get as much of the dirt and grime as I could off of your face. After that, I just waited for you to wake up."

"How long was I out?"

"A good nine hours."

"And you stayed here watching me the whole time?" She couldn't believe he cared that much.

"Well, yeah. I was worried about you." He shrugged as if it was nothing. "besides, your talking to the guy who stares at an Emerald all day. It was a nice change of pace to look out for a living person."

Rouge laughed, but stopped when she realized the amount of pain it was causing her.

"How about you take a couple of these?" he held up a bottle of painkillers.

"Very good idea."

He handed her a glass of water and she took two. "Thanks."

"No problem. You hungry? I can get you something."

"A little. Maybe just some crackers?"

He let out a small laugh. "Okay, if that's what you want. I'm getting some real food though."

He started to walk for the door before Rouge shouted to him. "Wait! Don't go!"

Knuckles head flipped around at the tone she was using. She sounded scared.

Rouge's face turned a bright shade of red when she'd realized what she'd done. "Sorry." she muttered. "I just… don't want to be alone." She stared down at the bedspread as if ashamed to admit it.

Knuckles walked back to the bed and placed a hand on her cheek. "It's okay. I'll be right down the hall, and I'm coming right back. I'll even leave the door open so you can hear me." He used a sincere tone, even though she was sure he would mock her.

He obviously noticed the confused look on Rouge's face because he smiled at her. "Trust me, I know how bad loneliness can be." He stared her in the eyes for a moment before removing his hand and walking into the hallway.

Rouge just stared after him. She'd known Knuckles had been alone most of his life, that's why she'd been so embarrassed at calling out like she had. But she'd had no idea he could be so sensitive and caring. He always acted so cold and tough, like he was determined not to show his feelings, which just made it even more surprising that he would open up to her like that. She couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever been so open with anyone else.

It didn't take long before Knuckles came back with a bowl of Cheez-Its for Rouge and a sandwich stuffed with meat and cheese for himself. "There you go." he said, handing her the bowl.

"Thanks." She sat there and munched for a moment, allowing Knuckles time to scarf down half his sandwich, before she finally decided to speak up. "Knuckles?"

"Yeah."

"I was wondering… you've always seemed like such a recluse person to me, like you don't want anyone to know how you feel… So I was wondering… well, I wanted to know why you've been so… open with me."

Knuckles put down his sandwich. "What do you mean?"

"Well, just a minute ago when I told you I didn't want to be alone, I thought you'd laugh at me, but you were so… sweet about it. In all the time I've known you I don't think I've ever seen you act so kind with anyone."

Knuckles closed his eyes for a moment and let out a small sigh. "That's because I never have been so kind to anyone. I'm constantly on the alert for anything even the slightest bit untrustworthy because of my duty to the emerald. So I really don't show emotion to anyone, it would leave me and the M.E. vulnerable. Honestly, you're the first person I've been able to talk to like this since… well ever. But after the way you helped me, I feel like I can really trust you Rouge." He was looking her directly in the eyes now and she knew he was telling the complete and honest truth.

"Knuckles, I… I don't know what to say. Except thank you."

"For what?"

"Well I've never had anyone trust me like that. I'm a spy and a thief, I don't exactly have a lot of friends. It feels really great to know I have someone to count on, someone who believes in me." She looked close to tears.

Suddenly, without thinking about it, Knuckles sat down next to her on the bed and gently pulled her into his arms. Rouge didn't know what to think. Part of her was shocked and amazed, but another part wanted to just cuddle up into his arms and fall asleep. She decided to listen to the latter half, and rested her head peacefully on his chest.

At that moment, the only thing that mattered to either of them was each other. They relaxed in the warmth of the other's touch and soon fell into a peaceful nap.

--

_Wooh! Tell me what you all think. And don't think this is over yet either. There will be one more actiony chapter and more KnuxRouge-iness before we're through._ ;)

_..._

_REVIIIIEEEEEWW!!_


	6. Together

_Here it is the final chapter, enjoy. :)_

--

Knuckles woke up a couple of hours later. He was initially unsure where he was, but when he saw Rouge sound asleep in his arms, it came back to him pretty quickly. She had a peaceful smile on her face as she slept.

Being this close to her was something he was really enjoying, and he blushed when he realized just how happy he was like this. Knuckles had always thought he'd be stuck by himself on Angel Island forever, with no one to talk to but the Master Emerald. And yet, here he was, on his solitary island, holding in his arms the most beautiful girl he had ever met. His blush deepened when realized exactly what he'd just thought. He really did think she was beautiful, he'd just never really thought about it like this. Maybe he wasn't doomed to eternal solitude, maybe he and Rouge could live together and start a family. Now he turned a brilliant red. Where had _that_ thought come from?

Knuckles decided he should get up before his thoughts strayed any further out of bounds. He slowly pulled himself up and set Rouge very gently onto her pillow before pulling the covers over her and heading for the door. He stopped halfway there and decided to write her a quick note. "_Shout if you need me. -Knuckles_"

He went to his room afterward and did a bit of weight lifting to get his mind off of the sleeping bat in the next room. Perhaps he should ask the Master Emerald for advice later. Sure, it didn't talk, but he had a special link with it, and when he really needed something, it would give him a clue. Like the first time it had broken, and he didn't know where to look for the last few pieces, an image of the Egg Carrier had appeared in it's bright green depths. _No_, he finally decided, _this is something I have to figure out for myself._

In the next room, Rouge was starting to blink awake. She immediately noticed the absence of Knuckles' warmth. Sitting up slightly she noticed his note and smiled to herself. He hadn't wanted her to think she was alone. She stretched her wings out as far as they could go. Seeing as they were currently the only unharmed part of her body, it was probably a good idea to keep them in shape. Rouge used her not broken arm to examine the bandaging Knuckles had done on her stomach. She noticed it didn't go up very far which likely meant he'd been trying to avoid her breasts. She smiled again thinking about how shy he could be. That made her realize just how odd it was that Knuckles had taken the time and courage to cuddle with her the way he had.

She really did love that silly little echidna. Sure he could be a jerk every now and then, and he was probably the most gullible person she'd ever met, but there was more to him than that. He could be a sweet and caring person when he tried, and he was exceedingly loyal to his friends. Not to mention his strong, quiet determination. She'd never tell him, but the whole reason Rouge had been on Angel Island the night Nak had shot Knuckles, was that she hadn't been able to get him off her mind for weeks.

She closed her eyes and let out a long deep sigh. "How am I supposed to tell Knuckles how madly in love I am with him."

"When I'm through with you, you won't be telling anyone anything, bat."

Rouge's eyes shot open and her head snapped up at the sound of the voice.

In the corner of the room stood the last person she wanted to see. "Didn't expect to see me so soon?" Slick asked with a malicious grin.

"How'd you get in here?" She tried to control the shaking in her voice.

"The window of course." Slick walked over to the door and clicked the lock in place. "Now how should we do this Rouge?" He was tossing his knife from hand to hand as he walked closer to her bed.

Her mind raced as she tried to think of a way out of this. She glanced at the note and knew Knuckles was her only hope.

Slick was right next to her now and noticed the note as well. "Don't even think about screaming." the black cat said as he placed a hand to her throat and the knife to her heart.

She knew it was dangerous, but it was her only chance, if she didn't try she'd die anyway. Rouge closed her eyes, took a deep shivering breath and yelled as loud as she could. "KNCUKLES HELP!"

"Damn you!" Slick shouted tightening his grip on her throat.

Knuckles heard the shout immediately and threw the enormous dumbbell he was holding halfway across the room before making a mad dash for the door. He sprinted to Rouge's door and upon noticing it was locked he didn't hesitate to smash it down with one fist.

The sight that greeted him was Slick trying to strangle Rouge with a knife pointed at her heart.

"Get the Hell away from her!" Knuckles dashed forward, grabbed Slick by the shoulders and threw him across the room and into the wall. Slick coughed as he lay on the ground, but had no time to react before Knuckles came back, liftede him by the neck and pinned him to the wall. "You just don't know when to give up do you, you sick bastard!" Slick was making a gurgling noise due to Knuckles' fist. The echidna didn't wait for him to say anything else and punched the cat in the gut. He threw him to the ground and placed a foot on his chest to pin him the.

"Now listen to me and listen good. If you EVER so much as lay a finger on my girl again, I will personally hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands! Now get off my island before I have to throw you off." He lifted his foot so Slick could get up and gave him a deadly glare. The cat lifted himself slowly and headed for the door before Knuckles stopped him and took his knife. "I'll be taking this." He continued to glare as if daring him to disagree. But he just kept walking, and Knuckles waited until he heard the front door shut before snapping the blade in two and turning back to Rouge.

"You okay?" He placed a hand on her cheek and held her good hand in his other. "You're not hurt?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine, you got here just in time."

"Good" He sighed and tightened his grip on her hand.

"So," Rouge continued with a grin. "I'm _your_ girl now, am I?"

Knuckles blushed but didn't hesitate to reply. "Yeah, if that's okay with you."

She just nodded.

"Rouge," He continued, staring her directly in the eyes. "I think I'm falling in love with you."

She gave him a huge smile and tried to bite back the tears she felt welling up. "Knuckles I fell for you a long time ago."

He smiled back before deciding they should make it truly official. Knuckles leaned in and gave Rouge a gentle kiss on the lips, which she happily returned.

After a few seconds, they parted. Knuckles smiled. "So," he said, their foreheads touching. "Does this mean we're a couple now?"

Rouge laughed. "Yes it does. So that means you have to start giving me flowers and jewelry." She grinned playfully.

"Ha, I think I can do that. But does that mean we have to start using silly nicknames?"

"You bet, Knucky."

"No fair, my name's easy. How am I supposed to come up with something for Rouge?"

"You could just call me sweetheart."

"That'll work." He crawled into the bed with her and held her in his arms once more.

"Knuckles?" Rouge said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for taking care of me. And for saving me again."

"Hey, I'll always be there for you when you need me Rouge."

"Good. Because I don't want to be alone anymore."

"Don't worry, you'll never have to be alone so long as I'm around."

They stayed like that for quite some time, just happy to be together. Knuckles realized somewhere in the back of his mind that he'd have to tell everyone else about this. Sonic would pick on him about it for months, but he really didn't care. He had Rouge now and she had him, that was all that really mattered.

--

_Phew! Done! I really enjoyed writing this one so I hope you all liked it too. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think. ;) Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go upload a quick Amy thing I wrote before working on the next chapter of my year-and-a-half old fic,_ Sonic jam session_.(Shameless plugging!)_


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